It’s easy to talk about books that are either amazingly good or blatantly bad; we usually have no trouble articulating the points that we either love or loathe. But it’s often hard to find much of anything to say about a book that we think is just so-so, mediocre, ordinary—perhaps the nicest term is unremarkable. […]
Why is it so hard to review mediocre books? Read More »
Yep, it’s that time again already: Time for the “best books of the year” lists. Here’s the first one I’ve seen, Publishers Weekly‘s list of the 10 best books of the year, both fiction and nonfiction considered together. And I’m sure that more lists won’t be far behind.
PW Best Books 2011: The Top 10 Read More »
Why is dystopia so appealing to young adults? A dystopia is an imaginary world in which people live dehumanized lives of fear and subjugation; it’s the opposite of utopia. In this piece YA writer Moira Young examines why distopian novels such as Suzanne Collins’s recent Hunger Games trilogy are so popular with young people: Books
Book lovers rake in the reading as publishers release fall titles It’s time to trade in the beach reads for the usually longer and more serious fall reads. The Sacramento Bee‘s Allen Pierleoni lists upcoming new titles, some by big-name authors (think Joan Didion, Lee Child, Stephen King, Alice Hoffman, and Sue Grafton ) in
The greatest death scenes in literature Five judges of the 2012 Wellcome Trust book prize for medicine in literature ponder the question “What makes for a great literary death scene?” Tim Lott calls their choices “eclectic.” Take a look, and see if you have other favorite death scenes to add to the list. The 10
Literature & Psychology | Scoop.it. Please check out my newest undertaking and let me know what you think.
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‘Hunger Games’: First Clip of Jennifer Lawrence in Action Debuts During MTV VMAs (Video) – Hollywood Reporter. The film version of Suzanne Collins’s popular book trilogy is due out in March.
Los Angeles Times: Critic Betsy Sharkey writes: “The Help” is a delicious peppery stew of home-cooked, 1960s Southern-style racism that serves up a soulful dish of what ails us and what heals us. Laughter, which is ladled on thick as gravy, proves to be the secret ingredient — turning what should be a feel-bad movie
“The Help” the movie: Two more reviews Read More »
Learning to Love a Killer: John Hart’s Fourth Novel Takes Different Twist | The Pilot: Southern Pines, NC. Iron Horse, the fourth novel by New York Times best-selling author John Hart, was released last week. “Given the success of the first three, I always allow myself to feel confident when I might be feeling uncertain,”
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Coben, Harlan. Shelter: A Mickey Bolitar Novel G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 2011 Life is looking pretty bleak to fifteen-year-old Mickey Bolitar. In addition to watching his father die in a car crash and admitting his mother to drug rehab, he has had to move in with his uncle, Myron Bolitar, whom he hates. The
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